Power outlet devices, occasionally called multi-outlet centers, are well known. A typical power outlet device is a power outlet strip ("POS") having a single male plug which can be inserted into a standard 110 VAC receptacle; a body forming a pluralitY (perhaps six or so) of female receptacles; and an on/off switch. Thus, a POS in effect "expands" a single 110 VAC receptacle into several receptacles. POS devices have recently become very popular for supplying power to microcomputer systems including, for example, a microcomputer, a printer, a modem, and perhaps other peripheral devices, the idea being that the entire system can be protected and energized/de-energized through the use of a single protective device having a single on/off switch.
Common POS features include high current protection; high voltage protection; and noise filtering. In prior POS's the components (e.g. circuit breakers, metal oxide varistors (MOV's), caPacitors) responsible for such features were typically soldered or crimped together in rather crude fashion, and the resulting agglomeration of components was attached to three metallic power strips or busses (hot, neutral, and ground) using wires and slip-on connectors. Thus, the individual components were manually interconnected and the subassembly was then manually connected to the bus strips of the POS using wires terminated with female slip-on connectors. This labor-intensive assembly procedure was very slow and therefore added significant cost to the product. Moreover, the integrity of the connections between components and to the bus strips was not consistent. Finally, the prior art assembly technique did not lend itself well to quality inspections and replacements during fabrication. For example, it was difficult to test the subassembly of current/voltage protection/filtering components and replace it if necessary.
The POS of the present invention addresses the problems associated with prior art POS's. In particular, Applicant's POS assembles very easily and quickly compared to prior art POS's, and facilitates testing of electrical components and the replacement of defective components or subassemblies.